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Old English Fruitcake

Old English Fruitcake. Dark and moist with plenty of spices and packed with plenty of sweet glacé fruit. It’s been a Christmas tradition in my family for decades.

Old English Fruitcake

Old English Fruitcake – It’s still weeks away, I know, but I’ve got a head start on a dark old English fruitcake for Spouse. It’s a real old English style, dense, dark fruitcake.

I think this one weighs in at between 7 and 8 pounds. It’s her absolute favorite. Tomorrow she goes to the rum spa for a soak and a wrap. The cake, that is, not Spouse!

Inspired by my Newfoundland upbringing, this dark English fruitcake with roots in the UK is one of my favourite things to look forward to at Christmas. This is a large cake meant to be served in small pieces.

Old English Fruitcake ready for the oven.

Old English Fruitcake

There are easily 40 portions or more which means there’s plenty to share with friends and family whenever they pop by during the Holidays.

For other Holiday fruitcake ideas from Rock Recipes, follow the link below.

In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat and add the raisins, dates, prunes, currents, brown sugar, molasses, spices, coffee liqueur (or coffee) and the orange zest and juice.

Bring to a gentle boil and very slowly simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool for 30-45 minutes.

When cool stir in the beaten eggs.

Sift together, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda.

Add the ground nuts and fold through the boiled mixture. Fold in cherries, citrus peel and pecans. Pour into prepared baking pan. You can decorate the top with additional pecan halves, cherries etc., if you like.

Bake at 300 degrees F for 1 ½ to 2 hours depending upon the size of your pan. Mine took the full two hours in a 10 inch spring form pan.The cake should feel firm to the touch at the center and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. The cake should be cooled completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing.

At this point you can poke small holes in the top and bottom of the cake with a fork and pour on 4 ounces of dark rum or your favorite whiskey, half on the top, wait ten minutes, then flip it over and pour the remaining half on the bottom.

Soak several layers of cheesecloth in additional rum if you like and wrap completely around the cake, then cover with several layers of plastic wrap and store in a COOL place.

When serving, you can add a layer of marzipan or if you have decorated the top with fruit and nuts, brush with a simple glaze of equal parts water and sugar boiled together for about 10-15 minutes.

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I wanted to comment on this marvelous cake!!! I made it with raw apple juice instead of the coffee. I also used half of a lemon juice and zest. I used 1/2 cup coconut as well:) I love this cake because my mother was English and she made this cake every year for Christmas. She passed away last year and baking this cake made me feel closer to her:) my husband absolutely loves it, and that’s a score in my court:)
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I will be making it every year! Our cleaners just left with a slice to go and wide eyes and a big smile! I love to share, and so did my Mom. This cake gives me something to share:) thank you again!
One question, do you use fresh currents? I’m in Spain for six months and I bought fresh ones but wasn’t sure so I left them out! I would like to bake this cake again (because I love the fruits and nut benefits) and need to use my currants:)

So glad it was such a success. Dried currents are all I’ve ever used. Are fresh currents like small grapes? I would not want to aadd any more moisture than the recipe calls for or the cake might become a soggy mess.

My mother use to make these and it was always 3 or 4 months before Christmas .She would make two or three at a time. She would freeze them and you only got a piece of one at Christmas and when ever she felt like cutting into another one did you get another slice. They were excellent cakes worth waiting for. But you never touched them with out her consent,

In truth, this cake will last for several years without being frozen. I bake 7 or 8 at a time (my kitchen has a restaurant stove with two cavernous ovens), wrap them in rum soaked muslin and store in cake tins in my unheated basement pantry. The reason for so many, is that when I’m at home I have armies of company and thus there is always something tasty to serve up with tea and coffee. When I say several years, I e kept them as long as 4 or 5. Our receipe is pretty much the same as Barry’s but my family uses dried figs instead of prune and I also add organic dried apricots from Costco. Organic apricots aren’t bright orange and initially it was a way of using them up. We also omit the chocolate (personally it is the only thing I really dislike) and skip all nuts including coconut. My mother claimed nuts suck the moisture out of the cake and become flabby. Last time I made these, I did add molasses for the first time and will again. And jam: strained blackberry or strawberry or black current.
At the risk of rambling, I also make a version of this cake that uses only light coloured ingredients and bright coloured fruits with a lot of citron and pineapple, soaking it in apricot liqueur as a spring/Easterey confection. This year I’m going to diverse from tradition and use some coconut – like a pina colada with cherries and stuff. This cake gets bright coloured dried apricots, dried cranberries, golden raisins and some of the preserved oranges I made some years back to use up a glut I had purchased. We also add a cup of jam to our fruitcakes. For this one, it’s a jar of my apricot jam I make every year anyway.

I took a giant leap of faith,and made this fruit cake for the Christmas season. As you know, fruit cakes are not cheap to make, and are somewhat labor-intensive. This cake was far superior to the one I have made for the past several years. It was moist, dense, and packed with lots of fruit. Everyone loved it.A big thank-you for the post.

I’ve been making this recipe since 2009. I use a an old funnel type aluminum cake pan 9.5″ diam. and bake it at 300 F Convection for 2 hours and it comes out perfect each time. Absolutely delicious and so fragrant all through our home…..puts you in the X-Mas spirit.

Actually, it’s the end of January and I am making both my white and dark fruitcakes now for next Christmas. I will wrap them in muslin soaked with rum for the dark and apricot brandy for the white cakes and set them in stone crocks in the basement cold room until I want to use them.

My grandmother always made them at “haying time” which in Nova Scotia would be June. This is the time of year when I have time to devote to it and I am using my wood cook stove to bake them. It’s far too hot come June to even have the gas stove going 4 or 5 hours. I’m still using their old fruitcake pans which make very large cakes and take a long time to bake at about 250 or 275 F. And in the fall I’m busy making mincemeat etc., and later on, plum puddings.

I am overjoyed with how wonderful this cake is. The taste is fantastic, the moisture level is superb, and everyone who had a slice on Christmas Day was oohing and ahhing! This recipe is well and truly a keeper!!!!

Thanks for such a great recipe. The cake looks scrumptious. One question though, are the number of eggs correct? All other fruit cake recipes with the same amount of other ingredients ask for 5 eggs atleast.
Baking a fruit cake for the first time so have no idea.

Another question, in India we have a different version of the fruit cake which doesnt use molasses so wanted to understand how does molasses alter its taste and texture.

I’m going to try making this for my father-in-law. He’s from England and LOVES fruitcake. I personally don’t really enjoy it, but maybe this will be the one that changes that! I’ve never attempted fruitcake before, but the recipe seems easy enough to follow; wish me luck!

I want to do this cake, but can we omit the toasted pecans and ground hazelnuts , for allergy reasons. Can I just add more dried fruits instead. Thank you in advance. Can’t wait to taste it. Looks delicious.

This is the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone putting cocoa in a fruitcake. Mine is an old receipe (200-ish years anyway) so maybe they didn’t have access to chocolate at the time. In any event that is a non-starter for me as I dislike anything chocolate. Never put prunes in either. Just dates, seeded raisins and figs plus all the fruits. I omit any nuts too as I find them “flabby” in baked goods and they make cakes dryer. This is the first time I ever added molasses. Let’s see what it’s like next Christmas. I do like molasses. I bet prunes add a lot to the moisture of the cake but the dark cakes turn out very moist anyway.

Cocoa was made more available to the less affluent thanks to new Dutch processing started in 1822. Before this time only the more wealthy could afford it. So, this recipe could have been made by the rich. This recipe could possibly even predate 1822. Cocoa has been around a long time.

I would certainly not leave out the cocoa or coffee. Both can add a nice bottom note or contrast to the sweetness of the cake thereby enhancing the flavor immensely. I have used one or both in a couple of other recipes, some savory. You probably will not taste it all in the forefront of the flavors but they do make a difference overall.

Help – I am deeply fascinated by the looks of this cake, and I plan on making it as soon as possible (since Xmas is about 4 weeks away). One question though: Are the ounce measurements by volume or by weight? Huge difference. Thank you for clarifying.

I made this and it’s very good and moist. The coffee, cocoa, and molasses is such a nice combination. If I changed anything about the flavor, I would just like it a little sweeter. I did have one problem though. I’m sure I measured right, but this was such a thin batter, very liquid. Is this how it should be? I panicked and added another cup of flour. It was still thinner than any fruitcake batter I have ever seen. No harm seems done except the fruit mostly settled the bottom 2/3 of the cake. Most fruitcake recipes have so little thick batter, the fruit cannot settle. Did I do something wrong?

You definitely went wrong somewhere. There is no way this batter should be thin. That’s never happened to me and I’ve made it for years. I’ve also never heard anyone say a fruitcake should be sweeter!! That is a new one! Hope you figure out the error. I’d be curious to know if you discover where you went wrong.

Made this cake last christmas. Hadnt baked for many years. I added citrus peel and used a tube pan.It turned out great. Tasty, full of fruits and enjoyed over the holidays. Will be baking another this year

ThanksI made this delicious fruit cake last year for my siblings and uncle. Everyone loved it and I’m looking forward to making it again this year. I made a double batch and got six loaf pan cakes out of bed. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe.

How glad I am to find this recipe. Since I cannot find Mom’s recipe, this will be perfect. One question…how will it turn out with some brandy or rum? Can I soak the fruit in the liquer before baking and add some to soak in afterwards or will the cake become soggy? Thanks for the recipe.

HAHA! That thought went through my mind as well – Ms. Patmore! I’m so excited about this cake. I’m making it and taking it with me on the airplane to visit family…CHEERS to a lovely and beautiful cake. I can’t wait to taste it. (A lick of the spatula told me it tastes amazing.)

When I made one that needed to be spirit-free, I melted apricot jam and added enough white grape juice to render it a liquid which I brushed over the top. Of course you could use a simple syrup and add vanilla (which can be purchased alcohol-free).

Hi,
I would love to bake this cake and I have one question? I have 2 young kids and was wondering if the Rum soak is not advisable. I have baked other fruit cakes before where the rum or whisky is added before its baked and it is supposed to have killed the alcohol content when its cooked.
thanks and the cake looks great!

Hi. I have been making fruit cakes for years for friends although I don’t eat them I like making them. I used another recipe but couldn’t find the recipe. I searched the internet and found yours which has similar ingredients. I did double the recipe. One is in the oven now. Smells great. Tell me, have I left it too late as Christmas is only a week away? Well less.

Barry, this was so good! Hubby made 11 small loaves. I did post a picture when they came out of the oven. Getting rave reviews on them, what a great recipe. We cut to sample about 2 days after baking and that is way too soon. Will make earlier next year so they can age a bit. Thank you for sharing such wonderful recipes with us! Happy New Year to you and yours.

This is just simply the most delicious fruit cake. I am making another one today. Flavour, taste and texture superb! Thanks for the recipe!
Wait a month for flavours to develop??? Not sure if we can wait!!!!

Just a thought but I find honey tends to take over the taste of baked goods. On the other hand, honey is great for preserving and keeping things moist. How about posting your thoughts on your finished product. Hmmmm…… something to think about.

HI, I have gone ahead and bake a simplified version with only dark rum-soaked raisins and cranberries to just see how the texture turned out. I have followed exactly the steps in your recipe. I have rave reviews from my families and friends. I must say the cake tasted really good.

I noticed that you didn’t soak the dried fruits in rum but boiled them in melted butter and sugar in Step 1 to 3. I threw the dark rum soaked raisins and cranberries and I’m not sure if this has an effect on the cake. Its extremely moist and the crumbs just fall out whenever I cut the cake or trying to hold a piece with my fingers. I would like to know if the purpose of boiling the dried fruits is to accelerate the plumping up of the dried fruits. If this is so, I shall not add those dark rum soaked dried fruits in this step.

I will making the actual batch of fruitcake next weekend and till now I’m trying to figure out if I should add an additional 1/3 cup of flour to make it hard enough to hold together.

Got an email today announcing a new post wherein someone wanted to know about deleting all the alcohol. As an ingredient, you can substitute fruit juice but beware of soaking the baked cake in cheesecloth moistened with anything other than spirits of one type or another. Most everything else can become support the growth of mould. I have been baking numerous fruitcakes each year since I was a teenager (more than 55 years, that would be) so I’ve had a bit of experience. Also, if you don’t include rum, whiskey, or the
Like in the cakes ingredients, it will alter its shelf life significantly so don’t make it too far ahead. The spirits work to preserve the cakes. I’ve been able to keep cakes literally for years simply wrapped in cloth soaked with liquor and kept in a cool spot inside a tin.

Our new recipe software allows me to turn on metric conversion. I have enabled this feature now for this recipe. Please click on Metric to be given the weight measures in grams and millilitre equivalents for liquid ingredients.

I made this recipe a couple of years ago. My first attempt at making Fruit Cake. It was a huge hit and now I make it every year. First time a recipe turned out exactly as shown in the recipe picture. Time consuming with the chopping but oh so yummy! Hubby loves to douse it with the rum. When we moved it was the first thing he brought into our new home. Also approved by a dear Nfld friend who loves it. Must get making some more for this year!

Hello! Preparing fruitcake here in Montréal and I came across the beautiful cake. I’m not a fan of nuts in my fruitcake (no allergies, just for texture reasons. If I leave out the pecans and keep the ground almonds, would you substitute the pecans with something else, or do you think it will be just fine as is? I’m weary fo taking 225 grams (pecans) out without substituting, but then again, there are already lots of fruit. Thank you in advance!

Love this recipe! Made a few fruit changes for our tastes. Dried apricots, figs, dried cranberries, and dried cherries. Also, added some candied pineapple. I made sure the ounces were equivalent to the total in the recipe. It came out wonderfully! Also, soaked it in amaretto instead of rum. Gave it a pleasantly milder alcohol flavor. Everyone loved this cake! Even the few sad souls in the family who don’t care for fruitcake…(can you imagine)…liked it!

This is a lovely sounding recipe which I will be making in the next couple of days. Won’t be removing anything from this already wonderful recipe – maybe add some dark chocolate!! Thankyou for the metric option. I know it will be a good flavour. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours.

I made this Christmas Cake in several different sized pans, numbering in all 5. I fed it well with alcohol!
3 I have given as presents, 1 as a taster and 1 for us.
It is an amazing flavour and I just wanted to keep eating it – but one has to show restraint. There is a lot of eating to be done over the next few days!!!

I will be making this cake many times in the future, so flavourful and moist, and so easy to make.
Thank goodness you posted it along with other Cakes just recently which I intend to try as well.

Hi Barry just finished wrapping the cake in the plastic wrap would I put it in the bottom of the refrigerator? House smells heavenly. Thank you for the recipe. I enjoyed reading all the comments and replies as well.

Hi Barry I’m taking my first shot at fruitcake and of course I have a question …i have never liked fruitcake until I had a taste last year and it was yummy…anyway I just zested an orange and tasted it and realized I seriously dislike the orange flavor .do ,I believe it may be the reason I disliked the cake …I have read all the posts on here and I know you have never substituded any of the ingrediants but I’m wondering if you think it would be ok to just leave out the zest and maybe just add some juice …the cake looks wonderful I even went to the liquor store …lol…thanks hope you guys have a great Christmas

I made this last year and it turned out great. I have it in the oven again now, and will make another batch later today or tomorrow. I get three small loaves from one recipe, and give them as gifts. Thanks for the recipe and clear measurements and instructions.

I made fruit cake for the first time two years ago for Christmas using this recipe and it was delicious! This is my go-to site for all of my Christmas cookies every year. It has never steered me wrong!

What is the best way to get a nice, clean slice of this cake? A sawing motion with a serrated knife? Straight down with a straight blade? Some other technique? I made this cake a few weeks ago and, just last week, sliced into it for a taste. It was fantastic but it fell apart when I cut into it. Was it my cutting or did I do something wrong in the baking (I split the batter into three small loaves and had to guess at the bake time)?

Best fruitcake ever! Made it 2 weeks ago and i have couple of slices left.I follow the recipe and came out delicious.House smelled amazing! Today i will make another one for our Christmas party.
Thank you for this recipe!

We made 4 cakes in bread loaf pans – extra nuts and candied fruit – turned out wonderful! Then, as an alcohol substitute, a glaze of crab-apple jelly, apple juice, touch of vanilla, almond and orange extract . Brushed it on all sides.
Everyone here loved it – We will be giving the cake for presents. The monk from Saskatchewan, who always said he didn’t like fruit cake, is now a fan because of this cake.

Hi Barry ..just wanted to let you know friends and family said on a scale of 1 to 10 this cake is a 12 ,I told them about your cookbooks …thanks for freely sharing this one tho, the world needs it …Hope your 2018 is awesome …Esther

Sorry I did not see where to add the spice so it will so with the dry ingredients.
I am so excited about this recipe even though it is after Christmas. My previous fruit cakes have been a hit with the neighbors but I am ready for this now.
I have some true black currants but no prunes or dates so I will improvise. I love the use of cocoa which was often used by the more affluent before 1822 when the Dutch production made it less costly and more easily available. So I am sure this is in keeping with an original recipe from Britain.

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Hi, I'm Barry. I'm Dad to 2 amazing kids, author of 3 best-selling cookbooks, a freelance food writer & full time blogger. My lifetime love of cooking & baking has led me to share over 1600 recipes on this blog over the last 10 years. Come back often, there's always great new food & recipes coming out of my St. John's, Newfoundland kitchen!

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